City of Bradford - Roll of Honour 1914-1918

Bradford Local Studies is to be commended for making the City of Bradford Roll of Honour 1914-1918 available online. It's a basic, no frills, whack-it-up-on-flickr approach, but it works. There is no name indexing here but it is page indexed and fairly easy to find your way around. It's a shame that some of the detail on some of the pages has not been properly captured (or has been carelessly cropped) but nevertheless, the determined researcher will still find this a very useful resource, and all images can be downloaded.

The image above shows a typical page giving name, home address, rank and unit, date of enlistment and, if a casualty, date of death. It's a pity that the regimental number was not recorded, and of course there are many men who would have served in several units during the war, these additional units also not recorded.

Find your way around the site by first selecting the surname letter:

Having done so, hover over the images to find the correct surname range.

Well done, Bradford Local Studies for this unscientific but effective approach. This is a useful free resource.

The Iron Duke's men - Researching Waterloo

OK, here are some tips for tracing Waterloo veterans from your home town.  You're going to need access to Findmypast to do this so take out a free two week trial or find a local library that has already subscribed.

You're going to be using two collections on Findmypast: The Waterloo Medal Roll and British Army Service Records 1760-1913.  The Waterloo Medal Roll is a licensed dataset from Naval & Military Press which gives basic details of Waterloo Medal recipients. The British Army Service Records' collection is actually several collections, some of which contain details - usually basic - of men who served at Waterloo. Unfortunately, it is not possible to use a Waterloo keyword search on this collection and so we're going to need to do a bit of detective work. I'm going to show you the approach I take.

Step 1 - Open up the British Army Service Records' collection
Log into Findmypast and open up British Army Service Records 1760-1913.  You'll find it by going to the search bar at the top of the screen on the Home Page, then select A-Z of record sets, then start typing British Army...

Step 2 - Determine your search criteria
I live in Chelmsford in Essex and so I'm interested in men who came from Chelmsford. I can narrow the search down by birth parish or birth town, and in this example I'm going to select birth town. This is a browseable field and so when you start typing in Chelmsf... you'll need to wait until this word appears

 

As you can see from the screenshot above, Chelmsford appears, along with some dubious names which are almost certainly transcription errors. To be on the safe side I'm going to select the dubious names as well. The fact that these transcription errors appear in the drop-down list tells me that these values exist in records. Select all the names that apply and wait for the lozenges to appear:

 

 

At this point in time, were we to run a search, we'd get men who were joining the army at any point between 1760 and 1913. We need to narrow the results down, and unfortunately, typing "Waterloo" into the keyword search box is not going to help because when the records were indexed, details of battles and engagements were not recorded.

 

Step 3 - Narrow down the age of your soldier

On the assumption that men who fought at Waterloo would have been at least 18 years old (and probably a good deal older in most cases), we can look for likely candidates by narrowing down their year of birth. For Waterloo men, I search for men who were born in 1787, plus or minus 10 years. This will return results for all men born in Chelmsford, Chelmsfrd, Chemlsf... etc between 1777 and 1797:

 

 

We're not going to narrow the search down by regiment, and in 1815, soldiers did not have regimental numbers.  We're good to go.

 

Step 4 - Analysing the results

 

 

Don't be disheartened if your results look like this. It doesn't mean that there were no men who fought at Waterloo who were born at Chelmsford. It just means that again, in these cases, the birth town has not been indexed.  Edit the results to remove the birth town and enter birth parish instead:

 

 

Step 5 - Analysing the results (part 2)

This time. the search has worked fine. I have 28 results and the first three are shown below, organised alphabetically by surname as a default although you can organise by other fields.

 

 

Now, it's simply a case of going through each of the records to identify Waterloo men. Click on the camera icon to view the images. In actual fact, none of the three men listed above were at Waterloo but there are others in this list of 28 who were there. For instance, Thomas Creaton, born in Chelmsford in 1794, fought with the Grenadier Guards and his service is very clearly noted:

 

 

Elsewhere in his papers we see that Thomas was a gardener by trade and was receiving a pension as late as 1857 (which means we should also find him in the 1841 and 1851 census returns with a bit of luck).  We also see him in the Waterloo Medal Roll:

 

 

Conclusion

With a bit of perseverance and lateral thinking, it should be possible to find men from your neighbourhood who fought at Waterloo, and with a bit of luck to trace them in other records as well. What better way to commemorate the events of 200 years ago by bringing the men who were there, back to life.

 

Note that the British Army Service Records collections on Findmypast contain records for NCOs and other ranks only. You'll find Waterloo officers in other collections.

An incorrigible man

I was carrying out some research for a client in the week and came across this fascinating service record for Herbert Daniels, an old soldier who originally enlisted with the East Yorkshire Regiment at Leeds on New Year's Day 1906 and who has one of the most full regimental conduct sheets (in fact several regimental conduct sheets) that I've ever seen.  His record is well worth viewing in WO 363 and here's a taster of some of the charges against him:

26th June 1907 - Drunk on parade
1908 - Sheet lost, two cases of drunkenness
30th November 1908 - Drunk and improperly dressed in town
15th February 1913 - Having a dirty rifle
30th March 1913 - Drunk in barracks
22nd December 1913 - Drunk in barracks
10th March 1914 - Breaking out of the fort, period of absence
8th May 1914 - Being in a place out of bounds
15th May 1914 - Obtaining beer from the canteen whilst a defaulter
28th December 1914 - Overstaying his pass
1st January 1915 - Absent from tattoo
30th July 1915 - Absent from tattoo
22nd August 1915 - Period of absence
1st September 1915 - Absent from defaulters' call
19th September 1915 - Absent from tattoo
21st October 1915 - Absent from tattoo
7th November 1915 - Period of absence
11th January 1916 - Period of absence
24th January 1916 - Period of absence
3rd February 1916 - Period of absence
16th February 1916 - Period of absence
4th March 1916 - Drunkenness
22nd June 1916 - Breaking out of segregation, drunk in barracks, improperly dressed
18th August 1916 - Drunk in barracks, urinating in guard detention room
5th February 1917 - Period of absence, drunk
22nd April 1917 - Drunk on active service
26th May 1917 - Drunk in barracks
29th June 1917 - Drunk in barracks

And so it goes on...

Apart from the interesting light that these reports shed on the less than illustrious army career of Herbert Daniels, such reports are also great at pinpointing a battalion. For each of the reports above, we are given a location where the offence took place and we also see the names of witnesses, usually fellow soldiers, and sometimes several names. These names have not been indexed but it could be that one of those witnesses just happens to be your army ancestor.

By the time these 1916 and 1917 offences had been committed, Herbert had been transferred out of the East Yorkshire Regiment and into the 1st Royal Sussex Regiment who were stationed in India. I've noticed that some other men with poor service records were also sent packing to India and I wonder whether that's pure coincidence or whether the authorities wondered whether India might cure them. If that was the feeling, it certainly doesn't appear to have worked in Herbert's case. He was subsequently compulsorily transferred again in 1918, this time to the Royal West Kent Regiment, "in the interests of the service..."

Merchant Navy Seamen 1914-1920 - medal index cards

OK, I know, not army but it's my blog and I allow myself a little poetic licence at times.

Findmypast has just published an index of medal cards for 157,000 British Merchant Navy seamen who served during the First World War. This is an index only albeit with links through to images on the National Archives' page. This collection is a nice complement to the Merchant Navy service records also on Findmypast.

Malta Family History

Malta Family History is a great site which was recommended to me earlier today.  Many of the individuals listed here will be recorded in other sources such as overseas births, marriages and deaths and British Army Service Records 1760-1913, but there is lots of additional information which has been painstakingly recorded and collated over a number of years and which provides either unique information or information additional to existing sources.

The site could benefit from a decent search form but once you find your way around it's a real treasure trove; well worth investigating and digging a little deeper.

My thanks to Joseph Scerri for pointing me to Malta Family History. The photo I have used on this post is one of Joseph's and shows 339 Gunner Giovani Bastiantini of the Royal Malta Fencible Artillery.

The Great War Medal Collectors' Companion - Vol 3

Good old Howard. Here's Volume 3 of The Great War Medal Collectors Companion from one of the good guys - and he knows a thing or two about medals and militaria too. These are well-produced, lavishly illustrated books and jam packed full of information.

The contents of Volume 3 of The Great War Medal Collectors' Companion are as follows: The First Chapter (Ch 9) gives a short history of the 76 British Army Divisions (plus Cavalry and Guards Divisions) alongside the dates and Battles in which they were engaged (82 pages). The Second Chapter (Ch 10), Locations of British Regiments shows the locations of each battalion of the Line Regiments (plus Guards, Cavalry and Yeomanry Units) throughout the War. Each entry gives Brigade and Division and date of entry to the theatres of war. All changes of Brigade, Division and Theatre of War are noted (200 pages). The Third Chapter (Ch 11) is the OMRS Gold Medal Winning study of the Royal Engineer Units in the Great War. This includes locations, dates, battle honours, refined regimental numbers from Volume II, general duties and many contemporary photographs. An outstanding study (250 pages). The Fourth Chapter (Ch 12) is a study of the Machine Gun Corps in the Great War. It gives all unit locations and the Brigade and Division attached. In addition, there are a number of photographs and a section on the equipment and tactics employed (45 pages). Awarded OMRS Silver Medal 2014. The Fifth Chapter (Ch 13) is a study of the Army Cyclist Corps in the Great War and covers notes on their units, equipment and duties. This study was awarded an OMRS Silver Medal at the 2014 Convention.
These books are essential resources and will be much sought-after in years to come. Naval and Military Press also has copies of Volume 1 and Volume 2. Click on the links on this page to order these essential reference works.

From Recruit to Staff Sergeant - Nathaniel Washington Bancroft

 

Nathaniel Washington Bancroft served for over 35 years with the Honourable East India Company's Bengal Artillery and latterly the Royal Horse Artillery, taking part in the Sutlej campaign of 1845-6 where he was badly wounded, and later in the Indian Mutiny campaign. Like Edwin Mole of the 14th (King's) Hussars who recorded his army experiences some years later, Bancroft's account is full of fascinating and rich detail about his time in India; something which I personally find fascinating. Like Mole too, Bancroft has numerous records that survive and which have been digitised by Findmypast.  Here are some examples:

 

 

Above, birth and baptism record from the British India Office births and baptisms collection showing that Nathaniel Bancroft's father was also an artilleryman. Image extract copyright of the British Library Board.

 

 

Detail from Nathaniel Bancroft's British Army pension record in WO 97. The image is Crown Copyright The National Archives.

 

 

Marriage of Nathaniel Bancroft and Mary Ann Nunan at Umballa in 1845. Mary was a widow when Bancroft married her. She very nearly became a widow for a second time when he narrowly missed being fatally struck by cannon balls at Ferozeshah. Image from the British India Office marriages collection; copyright of the British Library Board.

 

 

Birth (1848) and baptism (1849) of Nathaniel Bancroft's son, also called Nathaniel Washington Bancroft. This was something of a family tradition as Nathaniel Bancroft Snr's father was also called... Nathaniel Bancroft. Image from the British India Office births and baptisms collection,  copyright of the British Library Board.

 

 

Death of Nathaniel Bancroft at Subathu on the 25th April 1908. He was buried the same day. Image from the British India Office deaths and burials collection copyright of the British Library Board.

 

It took me no more than ten minutes to find these documents, helped by an unusual name which in turn helps to narrow down the field (other Nathaniel Bancrofts returned in results are either his father or son).

 

There is plenty more research work that could be done here as well. Who was Mary Ann/Anne Bancroft's first husband? When did she die and what was the cause? Were there other children? Who did Nathaniel Bancroft re-marry? All of these answers will be found within the British India Office collection.  Click on the links above to explore this for yourself - and do buy a copy of Bancroft's very readable memoir, which I started and finished on the daily train commute this week, and which is easily available through abebooks for a few pounds.

1871 Worldwide British Army Index

 

Here's a useful database from Findmypast. If you can't find your ancestor on the 1871 census, could he have been serving overseas in the British Army? The 1871 Worldwide British Army Index is effectively a census surrogate which lists over 200,000 officers and men serving in Her Majesty's army. My old favourite, Edwin Mole, is there, serving as a private in the 14th (King's Hussars) who, at the time, were stationed at Cahir and Ballincollig in Ireland. Over 30,000 of these entries contain additional information such as date or year and place of birth. Well worth investigating if you have come up against a brick wall or two.

 

Soldiers' effects 1901-1929

 

 

Ancestry, in partnership with the National Army Museum, has today published registers of soldiers effects between 1901 and 1929. The following text appears on ancestry.co.uk:

 

"This database contains records detailing the money owed to soldiers of the British Army who died in service from 1901 to 1929. A small percentage of soldiers who were discharged as ‘insane’ are also listed here. Records typically include the name of the soldier, his next of kin and their relationship, the date of death and sometimes the place, plus other details. In cases where the soldier was discharged as insane, the place and date of discharge are often recorded in the place and date of death field.... Early records also list a soldier’s trade before enlistment. Payments went first to widows, or, if the soldier wasn’t married, to a parent (often a mother) or siblings."

This is another good resource from Ancestry, albeit probably not giving a huge amount of new or useful detail in the majority of cases.  The image above shows the entry for my great uncle, John Fredrick Nixon, who was killed in action on the 3rd October 1918 and appears to show that his father, my great grandfather, was paid a total of £26, 3s and 11d; a combination of back pay and war gratuity. I'm sure he would have much preferred to have had his son back.

Bond of Sacrifice - First World War officer casualties

Recently published on Findmypast, the two Bond of Sacrifice volumes which list officer casualties for 1914 and the first six months of 1915. (There are also a handful of 1916 casualties). Some very valuable information, not to mention portraits of many of the officers, are to be found within these pages.